downward spiral
by zeldris
Summary: in which Juvia the demon hunter becomes the hunted, and she has to rely on the man she tried to kill for survival. It doesn't help much that he's ungodly attractive. gruvia /au trash/
1. marked

**aka the i-have-no-writing-time-but-still-tried au no one asked for**

* * *

" _This_ ," he began, gesturing to the wickedly curved scythe pointed at his neck, "is just _rude_."

She gritted her teeth and ignored him, paring her arm just enough to prepare for the final cutting motion, sealing the demon to eternal binding. Or, in human terms, she'd be _killing_ him. Binding a demon to a weapon, in essence, was equal to death. Since they didn't _technically_ have souls, binding them to a cancellation object (Juvia'a scythe, was an excellent example) would end their existence, permanently.

"Come on, you _summon_ me, and then you _kill_ me? Common courtesy! Ever heard of it?" He sneered.

She pressed her lips together and ignored him. "Stop squirming, I'll make this quick."

"All for me? I'm honored." He snarled, struggling against the goddess chains she had wrapped around his body directly after summoning him. "Do you always do this when you first meet people?"

"Only _some_ people," she growled out, stressing the word _some_ like it was demonic. Which, in this case, it definitely was.

"My momma always told me to stay away from bad girls like you," he sung annoyingly, before spitting on the ground. "Pft. Goddess chains – that's cheap, and you know it. Fight me like a man. Er…a _wo-_ man."

"You're a joke," she spit, cursing herself for having second thoughts. He was the first demon who'd had this sharp a sense of humor – in her experience, they just spit fire and acid everywhere.

"A _joke_? Little girl, what are you, ten? You've barely even lived a _human_ lifetime, and those are pretty pathetic as they are. Look – I'm _kind_ of a big deal _down there_ ," he gestured to the flames and the summoning circle below him. "If you kill me – you _might_ get an angry mob of the undead on your doorstep."

"Is that a threat?"

He grinned, revealing rows of teeth that looked strangely… _human,_ so to speak.

"It's a promise."

"It's a promising _threat_."

"What are you gonna do about it? _Pray_? Humans are hilarious."

"I'm killing you now." She decided, taking her scythe and raising it above her head.

"Whoa, wait, seriously? Come on, I thought we were having a good time!" He protested, reeling back as the goddess chains glowed.

"Sorry. Just doing my job." She admitted. A flash of something, almost like amusement, flickered in his dark, void-like eyes. They were hypnotizing. She told herself not to get lost in them – for all she knew, he could be a bewitcher, or a deceiver, she just had to…focus…on…killing…him…

"Second thoughts, demon-slayer?" He asked her, morbid curiosity flickering in his dark, dark eyes.

"No! I-" she struggled to finish the sentence, she'd killed hundreds of demons before, why was she holding back?

 _Because he looks human,_ the smart part of her brain told her.

 _Because he looks like a supermodel._ The not-so-smart part of her brain whispered back.

It was true, he looked like he was sculptured by the sin of lust himself, firm, chiseled jaw line, smooth, luxurious hair – he was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. And _demonic_.

"You're hesitating. Why?" he pried her for information, a smile playing at his lips. He had enough satisfaction written on his face, you'd think that _he_ was the one with the scythe, and not her.

"You're different." She answered him, without realizing that she had just given him the upperhand. Familiarizing yourself with a target was foolish, like getting to know your own food before eating it.

"That I am," he admitted, shifting in the chain uncomfortably. "Could you take these off? They're kind of cramping my style."

She cracked a bemused smile. "Nice try."

He shrugged. "Worth it."

She shook off her smile. Right. Back to murdering.

"Can you tell my brother to suck an egg when you…err…run into him? Trust me, if you're a self-proclaimed _demon-hunter_ you're gonna run into him eventually." He requested.

"Uh…sure." She answered, licking her lips anxiously.

 _Just kill him, Juvia, it's not that hard. One slice, and poof! He's eliminated. One less demon to torture mankind._

"Hey, Juvia?" He spoke, voice unnervingly calm and steely.

"…Yes?" she asked hollowly, wondering subtly how in god's name he knew what her name was.

"You should know just one thing, you know – a tip for hunting demons, from a demon himself." He offered, eyes shining with mirth and grin never once faltering.

"…What's that." She spoke, regretting her words instantly, he looked like a snake who was about to unhinge its jaws and swallow her in one bite.

"Goddess chains," he gestured to the thick, deep purple magic item currently ensnaring him, "are excellent for suppressing demonic powers."

She rolled her eyes. "No shit."

He laughed a bit, like her simple, human antics mildly amused him. It was a laugh that said _I'll kill you last_ instead of _haha, you're funny._

"The only problem is," he added, with a small sigh. "They don't work on me."

All in the expanse of a single second, the chains dropped to the floor like dead weight, and she felt something slice the back of her head. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor like a bird shot out of the sky.

Before she could hit the cement floor, surely resulting in a cracked skull, she felt something catch her. Then she was slowly lowered to the ground, like she was something precious rather than a sinful human.

"You amuse me, Juvia Lockser, demon-hunter." He spoke fluidly, like it was all just a fun game and not life-or-death. "I'll remember you."

She felt a white-hot burning sensation on her thigh, before his hands left her waist and she was enveloped in the darkness.


	2. touched

**i apologize for not updating ANYTHING lately but ive getting my college application shit together so. enjoy this terrible piece of shit literature i scraped together bc i was feeling reminiscent bc i ..lov gruvia**

* * *

Her elbow dug into the harsh marble floor and she cursed.

This really _wasn't_ her week.

"GIVE UP, DEMON HUNTER!" The greenish, xenomorph-looking demon snarled, its head twisting garishly from its position on the ceiling of an abandoned Marriott Hotel. It was undoubtedly abandoned _because_ of the demon - but that didn't matter now. It was time to end this.

Juvia didn't dignify the demon with a response, instead, she pulled her chain scythe out of the floor and prepared to throw it again.

The demon scurried around the ceiling, trying to evade her skillful aim.

Pathetic. She'd killed demons as weak as this one in her sleep - so _why was this taking so long?_

The demon paused by the grand staircase, still hanging upside-down as its claws sunk into the grainy ceiling that used to be a work of art.

The perfect shot.

It took her a mere second to wind up, contracting her biceps as the weight of the scythe pulled her back, before she swung forward and hurled the scythe upwards, straight into the neck of the demon.

She smiled. Success. The demon didn't stand a _chance -_ her aim was impeccable.

She heard the distinct _slice_ of the holy steel that comprised her blade. She looked up to examine her work - and froze.

The demon was gone.

 _Shit_.

Juvia whirled around, but it was too late - she was face-to-face with the demon's snarling, gnashing teeth.

She took a step back, trying to analyze what her next move could be. She tugged on the chain of her scythe. It didn't budge.

She flipped her head back around and the demon moved closer, venomous saliva dripping out of its rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Isss it true?" It gurgled, craning its neck to see her better. Which was weird, considering it had about...7 eyes.

She didn't answer his question. Her mind was racing. She was _trapped_ \- by a lesser demon of all things! This was how demon hunters _died_ \- if she didn't find a way out soon….

"Do you tassste...like...heaven?" It asked, it's split tongue wiggling excitedly in its mouth.

Ew. What did that even mean?

"Fuck off," Juvia finally spit out, hoping to cause some sort of distraction. Time was of the essence. She tugged on the chain of her scythe again and felt it give way, but only slightly.

It hissed, but it was a happy hiss. Like it was glad that Juvia was struggling.

"The legend sssayss...that if you drink the blood of a demon hunter...you gain eternal life…" It hissed, its gross, wet tongue sticking out to lick the side of Juvia's face. Gross.

Juvia took the demon's moment of weakness and kicked it in the leg. It shrieked and shoved her to the grond, as hard as it could. Her back slammed agaist the marble and she coughed from the force. The demon screeched something in its native language before lashing one iof its claws out and scratching Juvia's upper leg.

 _Fuck._ That was her favorite pair of leather leggings. Blood oozed out of the wound, and she saw shapes of exposed skin from the subsequent holes the demon had torn through her leggings. In fact, the cut went so far up her thigh that she could almost see-

" _DIE!_ " The demon crowned, raising one of its claws above its head to strike.

 _Thi is it…_ Juvia thought, _I'm going to die because of a stupid, bug-eyed nasty demon, and I'll have nothing to show for it_.

The demon went in for the kill. The second its claw touched her stomach, she winced, in preparation for the wound.

The claw stopped, just before it tore into her belly.

"What...isss…" The demon paused, one of its other six claws gripping her legging and pulling it back slightly.

"Fucking _weirdo_ -" Juvia hissed, kicking its body with her other leg. The demon caught it with one of its loitering claws.

Juvia looked down at her exposed thigh. The deep, dark blue mark that a greater demon had branded her with nearly a week ago still stood there - brightly against the pale cream of her natural skin.

The demon hissed and pulled back, with a loud wail.

"No! It'ss… not posssible…." Its claws shuddered as it said the words, like it couldn't believe what was happening. Juvia couldn't believe it either. She'd just been handed an ex-machina.

She yanked on her chain scythe as hard as she could, and it came flying out of the ceiling and landed near her ankle.

She jumped into action, ignoring the searing pain in her wounded leg and whipped the chain around her head, making a sharp arc, before hurling it at the demon.

The scythe was true to its target. The demon screamed as the scythe pierced its head and it burst into dust. Gone for good.

Juvia breathed a sigh of relief. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd been close to death - but it was the most recent.

She bit her lip at the sight of her wound. It wasn't pretty.

She squinted at the mark on her thigh, untouched. It stared back at her. Mocking.

She sighed and gathered her scythe, still looking at the marking.

"What are you?" She wondered aloud. The silent echoes of her own voice was the only answer she got.

.

.

.

"What?" Juvia strained, leaning her weary head forward, hoping she had heard something wrong.

"It's a…well, it's a mark." Sting shrugged, scratching the back of his head like that was all he could offer her.

"I _know_ that! How did…how did _he_ put it there?" Juvia whispered the last part, low and shallow. Sting made a tight face and frowned.

"Ugh, look, Juvia, we've been in this game for a long time. Things happen, curses, omens, summonings, _beheadings_ -"

"Yeah, Sting, I got it-"

"-mutilations, castrations, poisonings-"

" _Sting._ "

"Right." He breathed out, shaking his head from the many ways a demon hunter could be killed. "Anyways, I have never seen… _anything_ like this There's no dark magic in it – I mean, yeah, it's demon magic, but…something else, too. I can't know for sure. When Minerva gets back, you should check with her, she's a lot better with this stuff." Sting explained.

"So…am I going to die, or not?" Juvia asked, annoyed, as she tugged her thigh-highs back up to cover the intricate tattoo on her thigh, inconveniently placed there after an unfortunate failed mission. Sting had already used turquoise to heal her wound - it was truly a quick fix, as long as you had someone around you who was good with magic.

"I…can't be sure, the intent wasn't malicious. I used trace magic, but it came up as nothing, so, this is fairly new. My guess is, it'll fade away in a week or so." Sting said, a useless shrug sealing his sentence.

"Yeah, right." She said bitterly. Her hand absently grazed the spot where she had been marked, a dark blue, swirling stamp that seemed almost eerily familiar. _He_ had put it there shortly after knocking her out and escaping.

Speaking of...she still hadn't the _faintest_ idea how he'd managed to evade her goddess chains. It was… _impossible_ for demons to be able to break through…at least it _should've_ been impossible.

But he'd known the whole time that they didn't work on him. Why had he waited so long to escape?

And _why_ …in the name of _god_ …did he let her live?

She pursed her lips and she felt her tattoo tingle. Perhaps that was just something she'd never know.

.

.

.

"I've never _sssseen_ anything like it…"

Juvia groaned. That had to be at least the twentieth time she'd heard that answer.

"You don't know… _anything_ about this?" She repeated slowly.

" _Yessss_ ," she lesser demon replied. It currently had Juvia's scythe chain wrapped around it's ugly green neck and she sighed in exasperation.

"Useless," she muttered as she pulled the chain as hard as she could, popping the demon's head off like a dandelion. It exploded into oblivion, the scythe having bound its soul, destroying it for good. She started to gather up her weapon, before pausing suddenly. A new demon had appeared, she could sense it.

…and it was coming _fast_ …

She whirled around, taking her chain scythe with her and hoping to catch the demon in her arc, but she was too slow. The demon, who was easily an upper-class demon, and clearly resembled a human, somewhat. Flames erupted from his hands and he nearly took her arm off as he descended upon her.

"YEEEEAH, FINALLY, SOME _ACTION!_ " he roared, fists flaming as he sized her up. "What's good, lil' demon hunter? I've been lookin' for people like you…this should be fun…" he cackled.

"Uh…" Juvia breathed out, sweeping a lock of singed hair away from her eyes. "You're…"

"Fired up!" He shouted, hurling several fireballs at her. She ducked as fast as she could and rolled out of the way.

"HAHAHA, you'll never escape me! I've heard a lot about you, _apparently_ you _buttmunchers_ have been really causing some trouble…but you're no match for the great fire demon – Natsu Dragneel!" He yelled, seemingly more interested in _performance_ than actually fighting her. That would be his downfall.

She tightened her grasp on her chain scythe, the chain being completely forged of goddess amber and the blade of holy steel, a cancellation object that she would use to ultimately end the demon's life. Before she could aim properly and ensnare the overzealous demon, he leapt off his pedestal and came at her with fiery hands.

"HAHAAA, GET READY TO BUUURN- wait, what?" He stopped, fire wavering a centimeter from her face and heating her skin to its utmost limit.

"You…" he leaned forward, face touching her hair, and he… _inhaled_.

She was too shocked to react, it would've been an opportune moment to capture and kill him, but she was rather curious as to why a demon was _sniffing_ her.

"What the _fuck_ ," he murmured, pulling away from her like she smelt rotten. "You smell like...like…"

She pulled her chain up in an attempt to cut his throat open, but he caught her hand as fast as a lightning bolt.

" _Naughty,_ don't hit while I'm talking. You smell...familiar. What the hell is this?" He asked her cautiously. She shrugged while struggling in his grasp - he was strong, an upper-class demon that she wasn't used to facing. What was with all these powerful demons and _sparing_ her?

"Hey-ey, _look,_ I came out to have a good time, harass some humans, make them believe and invest their faith in the devil, maybe kill a few demon hunters, but I never thought I'd find a _marked_ one…" he trailed off, examining her arm, like he was looking for something.

"Marked one?" Juvia sputtered, before her eyes widened. "Wait...you mean _this_?" She reached down and yanked up her shorts, and was pleasantly surprised when the greater demon shielded his eyes conservatively.

" _Whoa_ \- lady! No flashing, I'm a classy demon…" he spoke, before she slapped his hand away from his eyes and pointed to the tattoo.

"Holy _shi_ -" he bubbled, befre slapping his hand over his mouth and bursting into raucous, out of character laughter.

" _This is_...this is _too_ good…" He gasped in between bouts of giggles. "A demon hunter? Of all people to mark?"

"What the _hell_ does marking mean?" She asked, suddenly desperate. She took advantage of his weak point and slung her chain around his ankle, pulling tightly, resulting in him crashing to the ground with a loud _thump._

"Ow! That wasn't nice! Say - I'll tell you what marked means and why, if you'll let me harvest your soul and sell it on the black market?" He asked with a hopeful, glowering grin.

"Tell me," she growled in response, pulling him by the ankle closer to him.

"Ow, ow, _ow!_ Watch the hair, missy. How old are you, anyway? Ten? Five?" He asked mockingly.

"I'm nineteen," she hissed, demons always did have a knack for demeaning humans for their short lifespans.

" _Suuure_ , you are. Well, I guess you've gotta have _something_ wrong with you - you were unlucky enough to get _Fullbuster_ to mark you, after all."

"What does that _mean_ -"

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist." he reprimanded, sitting up lopsided, seeing as his ankle was still intertwined with goddess chains. "Is that really necessary?" he asked, gesturing to said chains.

" _Yes._ You have eight seconds to explain, or I'll cleave your pathetic face in _half_."

"Yikes. Feisty. Alright." The demon laid his head back and sighed.

Juvia was nervous. The last time she'd faced a powerful demon - it'd been her fault. She'd gotten too confident and used a summoning circle so she could face a demon that would actually challenge her.

And challenge her he did. Being immune to goddess chains was absolutely unheard of - as was sparing the demon hunter that tried to kill you.

Juvia shuddered and looked down at the flamboyant demon, trying to keep her cool. The demon looked back at her, as if asking "are you done yet?" She only glared.

"Well? Start talking." She gestured to him and the fact that his mouth was still shut.

He rolled his eyes. "Could you at least remove the chains? They _burn_ y'know."

Juvia let out a sigh of relief. Good to know that some things in her life were still in order.

"No." She told him. " _Talk_."

He held up his hands in defeat. "Jeez, okay, I will. Hold your horses." He rolled his eyes and sat up, rubbing the tender part of his ankle that was still wrapped in goddess chains. Then, flipping his plaid scarf over his shoulder, he exposed his bare arm to her.

Juvia gasped. There, on the curve of his shoulder, was the same mark, only blood red.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" He asked with a cocky smirk. "Well - I got mine by choice. I'm sure yours was...less so."

"Damn right," she growled. "Now what the hell does it mean?!"

"It _means_ ," he cackled, "that you're one of US!"

Juvia blinked.

The demon smirked. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"You-" she glowered, frustrated. "That doesn't make any sense!"

The demon shook his head. "Jeez, you are one hopeless case. Just _how_ much do you know about demon culture?"

Juvia swallowed dumbly. She was rather clueless when it came to that topic, actually. Anything beyond murdering was foreign to her.

"That's what I thought." He smarted. "You see...this marking, is very special. It _connects_ you to us."

Juvia felt a beads of sweat starting to form on the back of her neck. She didn't like where this was going.

"Now - whether you like it or not - you're one of _us_." He sent her a toothy, know-it-all-grin. "Now - with that in mind, why don't you let me go?"

"I don't think so," Juvia growled, tightening the chains around his ankle and holding the scythe above his head. "You're a _monster_ , and I'm sending you to where you belong."

The demon looked offended. " _Whoa_ there, ease up on the m-word. That's a little rude. And bigoted."

Juvia bit the inside of her cheek. She was tired of this. It was time to end it. This was what she had trained for, after all. To kill demons. They were evil, and she was good. This was the only way she could protect her world.

The demon sighed. "Oh, I see. You're having your mid-life crisis right now. That's fine, but if you could speed it up a little, I'd be much obliged."

"Would you shut up already?" Juvia snapped.

"Look - _I get it_ \- you're having trouble graspig the idea that _perhaps_ not all demons are evil. And _perhaps_ not all demon-hunters are good. But i kind of have someplace to be, so if you could just-"

"Shut UP!" She screamed, her scythe sailing downwards and into the demon's bright, pink hair.

She immediately regrette her decision. From the dumbfounded look on his face, to the streams of black blood that were oozing out of his head wound - he felt a burst of guilt explode in the pit of her stomach.

Wait - _wound?_

Juvia yanked her scythe out of the demon's head. He should be _dead_! Poof! Exploded! No more!

Instead he sat there, moaning in pain as he bled slowly from the wound in his head.

Which was slowly...disappearing…

"Son of a gob-smacking underling that hurt like the fires of my place of birth!" He wailed incoherently, tapping his hair like it was an abandoned newborn. "That was _unbelievably_ rude!"

"You...you're not dead…" she uttered in disbelief/

"Well no _shit_." He shook his head, wound now completely healed. The only evidence of it ever happening were the streams of dried blood on his face. "What part of 'you're one of us' don't you understand!"

"I…" Juvia trailed off in disbelief. "I can't kill you because I'm one of you?"

"Precisely." The demon shook his head out, peeling dried blood off of his face and hair. "Oh, you see that? You see what you did there? Rude. Unheard of."

Juvia fell to her knees. "I can't kill demons anymore?"

The demon looked at her pitiful state, and must have felt bad for her. "Aw, it's not so bad. You just can't kill _us,_ see? You can kill other demons all the live-long day."

She looked at him in confusion. "Us?"

"Us. Fairy Tail." He confirmed, pointing again to the marking on his shoulder.

She wrinkled her nose. "Fairy Tail?"

"Ha-ha. Laugh all you want." He shook his head, like he got that reaction a lot.

"But…" She trailed off, dumbfounded. "Why?"

He looked mystified for a moment. "That's...a good question. I guess you'd have to ask Gray."

"Gray?" She asked, a shock wave curling through her body just at the mere mention of the word. Her mark tingled and she felt lightheaded.

"Yep. Gray Fullbuster. I can smell him all over you." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Tough luck, you know."

"Tough luck?" She repeated. "Tough _luck_? Because of this mark, I can't kill demons! In case you didn't know - that is literally my _only purpose on this earth_!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Okay, okay...calm down. You can still kill demons. Just not demons who are apart of Fairy Tail. Haven't we been over this?"

She glared at him, still thinking. In a moment of weakness, she allowed the goddess chains to loosen, setting him free.

"Oh thank _Satan_ , you know, that stuff really hurts." He stood up and rubbed his ankle tenderly. "I'm Natsu, by the way. Natsu Dragneel the Greater Fire Demon of Lethe."

"I'm Juvia." She greeted him, still paralyzed because her life had managed to turn completely on its head within only a couple of minutes. "Juvia...Silver. Demon Hunter."

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Juvia Silver, Demon Hunter." Natsu reached his hand towards her and Juvia blanched as his fingers grazed her upper leg, dangerously close to…

"Hey! What the hell are you-!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I forgot!" Natsu held his hands in the air defensively. "It's a Fairy Tail thing! We touch are marks as a sign of solidarity. Go ahead! You can touch mine!" He held ot his shoulder encouragingly and she only stared.

"I'll...pass for now." She said, rubbing her thigh mark subconsciously.

"Okay, whatever you say." He shrugged and turned around, walking towards the exit cheerfully.

"Hey wait! Where do you think you're going?" Juvia yelled, gathering her chain scythe as quickly as she could and following him closely.

"You know. Home. Or - hell, I guess. Why, where are you going?" He asked her defensively.

"I...well…" Juvia didn't have an answer. "Aren't you going to…"

Natsu raised his eyebrows, clearly confused by her train of thought.

"Aren't you going to take me to...Gray?" She asked, wishing she didn't shiver when she said the name.

Natsu laughed. "I mean...you really want to see him? That guy, he….he kinda sucks."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Well - I have to find out why he did this!"

Natsu shrugged. "I mean...if you _want_ to. But you'll have to leave... _that_ if you want to come with." He gestured to her chain scythe. Juvia immediately became defensive.

"Absolutely not." She argued. The chain scythe was the parting gift of her mentor - the only person who ever believed in her. There was no way she was leaving it behind.

"Okay, well, if you want to get torn limb-from-limb that's fine by me." Natsu shrugged. Juvia paused. If she _was_ going to hell, it would be suspicious if she was wandering around with a goddess weapon.

"Well...fine. I'll de-summon it. But the _second_ any of your demon pals gets suspicious…" She dragged her finger across her neck and to her surprise, Natsu laughed.

"Idiot. You saw how well that worked out last time." He pointed to his head, and to the dried flecks of blood still mussed into his hair.

Juvia gulped. He was right.

"Well, are you ready, or what?" He asked, pulling out an obsidian crystal and rubbing it with his fingertips, which were suddenly on fire.

Juvia looked down at her chain scythe and sighed, letting it disappear and return to the goddess realm until they were needed again.

"Yeah...I'm ready."

Natsu grinned and threw the obsidian crystal to the ground, where it expanded into a large, black gaping hole. A portal to hell.

Natsu saluted her and took a flying leap into the portal. Juvia watched until the top of his pink hair disappeared into the darkness.

"Here goes nothing." Juvia breathed out, before she followed Natsu into the darkness in search of answers.


End file.
